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Essay“The Sound of the Heart” : 201805

2018/5/1

My dear“Feature Phone”

I still use a feature phone.
I have never owned a smart phone and do not plan to own one. Actually, I only have a feature phone and nothing else. People are surprised when they know this, and after a dry kind of laughter, they start searching for the reason.
The fact is, I don’t like being pushed around by modern conveniences.
There are people after people, totally obsessed with their smart phones.
I am terrified to see people getting addicted by smart phones even during their meals and walks and conversations, until the last minute before going to bed. I even hear that there are people who cannot live without smart phones. Even if the addiction is not so bad, people could be losing something important by the invisible restraints.
So, I decided that I would never be using anything but my dear feature phone.
People wouldn’t mind, would they?

After all, I am a violinist who study, comprehend, make researches, love and perform music from about 200 to 300 years ago. Moreover I play on an instrument which is like a cultural heritage, made 300 years ago, by stretching catgut (sheep intestine) and applying rosin on the bow made of horse hair and rubbing it to make the sound.
On stage, I do not use microphones and the audience enjoy acoustic music. They feel the vibration of the sound through the air, with their five senses. My priority is on preserving the cultural heritage rather than the progress of civilization, so I tend to go against the times.

Naturally, and obviously, I write my articles and essays using my feature phone!
I write long sentences too (I have written a whole book published by Yamaha Music Publishing, titled “20 philosophies of a Violinist”).
As for telephones, I adore the conventional fixed-line phones.
After the invention of cell phones, one need to pick up the phone at all times whatsoever This must be a great restrain for everyone. Using SNS such as LINE could be worse, though I don’t actually know because I do not use it…
I used to love those black colored conventional phones. The touch of turning the dial, and the sound of it turning. When you dial number 1, the sound is short but when turning a zero, it takes a while and during that waiting time, feelings used to change and sometimes, ended up putting the receiver down. What if the person I called was not there? The phone would keep ringing forever in an empty house… It was emotional enough to imagine such situations.
When meeting people, we were worried that we might never see them, and if they were late, we would wait, imagining that our beloved are on their way, in a rush.
I just liked that kind of emotional feeling.

I also do not have a personal computer, not even at home.
So I have a difficult time when I need to look up for some information. But by looking up hard, I encounter something new and unexpected.
I like that too.
Therefore, I will continue to love my feature phone, forever and ever!